Legal Guide for the Visual Artist
This didn't make it into last week's issue - sorry! Loren Gatch writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:QUERY: ART AND COIN MUTILATION LAWS(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n39a16.html)

The Progression from Early Thalers to the U.S. dollar
Last week I asked " Can anyone point to a nicely illustrated page showing the progression from early thalers to the U.S. dollar?" Ken Bressett writes:

Maryland Paper Money Correction
Regarding last week's Featured Web Page, Ken Berger writes:

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:FEATURED WEB PAGE: HISTORY OF THE U.S. SILVER DOLLAR(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n40a19.html)

The British Empire of Sorts

Reading the item in this week's edition reporting that "Canada Introduces Quarters Commemorating Things That Don't Exist," reminded me of a series of articles under the authorship of the late Carl Allenbaugh presented in 18 installments from August of 1971 through March of 1973.

Presented under the banner of "The British Empire of Sorts," the series addressed the then remnants of the British Empire which were still existing directly under the British flag, from Gibraltar to the Falkland Islands to the British Indian Ocean Territory and points far and wide between. While some had coinage distinct to their existence, these somewhat tongue-in-cheek presentations referenced both what existed and the whimsical coins that might be.

While none of the dozen or so whimsical designs offered up in the installments ever came to be, many of the entities which at the time did not boast distinct coinages were subsequently so recognized.

The installments made for interesting and entertaining reading.

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:CANADA INTRODUCES QUARTERS COMMEMORATING THINGS THAT DON'T EXIST(www.coinbooks.org/esylum_v14n40a17.html)

Books Impounded by Argentina

Argentina's booksellers are accusing the government of censorship, saying more than a million imported books have stacked up in customs as authorities try to rebuild the country's printing houses.

The dispute is about commerce, not ideology, and publishing houses are only the latest sector of the economy to experience the strong-arm tactics of a government determined to rebuild domestic industrial capacity.

President Cristina Fernandez didn't directly address the customs controversy Thursday night when she inaugurated the new Museum of the Book and the Language. But she said her government is dedicated to restoring Argentina's ability to take care of itself in an uncertain world.

"The world is going in one direction and at times it seems like we're going to the opposite, but this is the necessary path to recover a country that already knew how to do things," she said.

The newspaper Clarin published a lengthy article Thursday describing how in order to liberate their books from customs' impound warehouses, publishers have been forced to meet with representatives of Commerce Secretary Guillermo Moreno and present plans for shifting their production to domestic printing houses.

To read the complete article, see:Argentina impounds imported books to force publishers to rebuild domestic printing industry(www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-lt-argentina
-books-impounded,0,6281601.story)

More Numismatic Jokes
On the topic of numismatic jokes, martin Purdy has this to say about Pete Smith's " Did you know that 64 Kennedy Halves are now worth thirty-two dollars?". He writes:

David Gladfelter writes: